During the fall semester of 2013, the Language and Culture Resource Center announced the opening of the Global Understanding Video Conference Room in 233 Campus Center Building, which will allow faculty to connect with other professors and classes around the world.

With two wide screen televisions, a high definition camera and sound system provided with TAF (Technology Access Fee) funding, up to 15 people will be able to participate in online conferences with classrooms and students from other universities.

See below for contact information to arrange for using the Global Understanding Video Conference Room.

Options for online conferences with other universities and institutions

1. One way to link up with another professor or class is through a partnership or contact you already have with someone at another institution using the ETSU Jabber Software. This requires a brief training session and providing a downloadable license to the professor at the other location. Once that is established, classroom interaction may be scheduled in the Global Understanding Video Conference Room by requesting a date and time in 233 Campus Center Building through Language and Culture Resource Center at lcrc@etsu.edu or nelsona@etsu.edu.

2. Another way to link to other universities is through the free UNICollaboration platform that supports university educators and mobility coordinators to organize and run online intercultural exchanges for their students. By taking part in such exchanges, students can develop intercultural awareness, electronic literacy and foreign language skills as well as learning more about their particular subject area. This platform will help ETSU professors find partners in other locales, both in the US and abroad.

If you wish to partner your class with other classes posted in UNICollaboration, please sign up and create accounts on the platform's homepage: http://www.unicollaboration.eu/

Once you have set up your own account and created a profile, you can go to the class database:

(http://www.unicollaboration.eu/?q=classes_list) and look for partner classes there or create your own class where you describe your students and what type of partners they are looking for. Other members will be able to read this 'call for partners' and get in touch with them.

How to Internationalize your course

Please let us know as soon as possible if you are interested in using the Global Understanding Video Conference Room and what date is convenient for you to have an orientation once you have made contact with a partner professor or class at another location.